One for the Girls! : The Pleasures and Practices of Reading Women's Porn

Against the claims of increasing sexualisation of culture, one truism is constantly rehearsed - that women have little taste for pornography. This book aims to offer a new basis for understanding women's pleasures in sexually explicit materials by focusing on the production and consumption of "For Women" magazine.

We usually think of women as the victims of pornography rather than its consumers. Whether appearing in films, peering provocatively from the pages of magazines, or posing on explicit Web-sites, women are considered the dehumanized objects of unseen lascivious male viewers. But in her controversial new book One for the Girls!, Clarissa Smith debunks this myth and challenges women to read, watch, and enjoy pornography on their own terms. Focusing on the British magazine For Women, Smith looks at its readers'' responses to male pinups and erotica and explores the intricacies of women''s unique reactions to pornography.

"Clarissa Smith has achieved something special with her new proffering from her masculinities repertoire. Smith''s text is groundbreaking, multidisciplinary and-equally importantly-extremely readable. It is the last point perhaps that really sets this work apart, as One for the Girls has a great deal to offer both the specialist academic and the general reader. Clarissa Smith''s accessible style allows readers with little prior knowledge of critical theory, cultural studies or the 1980s pornography debate, to not only understand these discourses, but to develop a strong grasp of their impact in this context."-Michelle Parsons, Transition TraditionWe usually think of women as the victims of pornography rather than its consumers. Whether appearing in films, peering provocatively from the pages of magazines, or posing on explicit Web-sites, women are considered the dehumanized objects of unseen lascivious male viewers. But in her controversial new book One for the Girls!, Clarissa Smith debunks this myth and challenges women to read, watch, and enjoy pornography on their own terms. Focusing on the British magazine For Women, Smith looks at its readers'' responses to male pinups and erotica and explores the intricacies of women''s unique reactions to pornography.

"Clarissa Smith has achieved something special with her new proffering from her masculinities repertoire. Smith''s text is groundbreaking, multidisciplinary and-equally importantly-extremely readable. It is the last point perhaps that really sets this work apart, as One for the Girls has a great deal to offer both the specialist academic and the general reader. Clarissa Smith''s accessible style allows readers with little prior knowledge of critical theory, cultural studies or the 1980s pornography debate, to not only understand these discourses, but to develop a strong grasp of their impact in this context."-Michelle Parsons, Transition Tradition